Te Toki a Rata Building - Victoria University of Wellington

A gateway and a marker

The science precinct is significant, not only at a campus level, but also at the scale of the city. The building provides an open and active ground plane and extends the physical connections along and across the site by rationalising and reinforcing existing entries and pathways.

Takitaki reinterpreted

The screening that wraps the façade provides solar protection and is designed as a contemporary expression of a ‘takitaki’, common place on traditional marae and pā sites. Building soffits, wall panelling and ceiling detailing are layered and folded, providing a family of elements consistent with Māori and Pacific Island details.

Long life, loose fit

An open floor plate arrangement provides a ‘long life, loose fit’ approach, allowing areas of the building to be reconfigured readily with minimal disruption. All lab floor plates are essentially column free, providing for maximum functional variability.

More options, more connectivity

Rather than create a single large atrium, inter-floor connectivity is provided through multiple stairs wrapped around the internal plaza. This approach allows the collaboration and informal learning spaces to be expressed at the building edges – provides an active edge to the plaza.

Resilience in design

The building is designed to Importance Level 3 (IL3). The superstructure incorporates low damage technologies to absorb earthquake energy. Dampers between the beams and the columns – which have been intentionally exposed in many areas of the building – provide earthquake resistance and express the resilience of the building to its users.

Building on a live site

The project presented a series of construction challenges due its unique topography, services heavy laboratory installation and works on an occupied site. Site access required detailed planning as the campus remained fully operational during construction.